Siege Weapons

Book Review of Siege Weapons (The Galactic Captains #1,) by Harry F. Rey

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I snagged a copy of Siege Weapons (by Harry F. Rey) from the publisher, Nine Star Press.

Description from Goodreads:

Captain Ales is a lonely smuggler at the galaxy’s Outer Verge, and the last of his people. He’s been trying to move on from a life of drugs and meaningless sex, but finding love in this forgotten corner of the galaxy is difficult.

When he’s sent on a mysterious smuggling mission to a world under siege, he’s enticed by promises of the domination he craves. But soon Ales finds himself entwined in a galactic power struggle that could cost him everything.

Review:

Eh. Ok in some regards, icky in others. I’m just gonna start with my big one. There is exactly one black man in this book, the main character. He’s possibly one of the few in the solar system. And his goal is to find a master to submit to in a master/slave sexual relationship. I am 100% squicked out by this. Honestly, I don’t even feel like the sudden BDSM angle was well integrated into the plot. I also wouldn’t call it a romance, even though there is sex in it.

I found the science fiction aspect a lot more palatable. Unfortunately, it’s not particularly well developed, as it’s not really the main thrust of the book. It’s more just the setting for the rest of it.

The writing and editing are perfectly passable though. Some of the dreams didn’t read as smoothly as the rest of the text. But I have no other complaints about the writing. All in all, I’d just call this ok.

Cursed by Fire

Review of Cursed by Fire (Blood & Magic #1), by Danielle Annett

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I Picked up a copy of Danielle Annett’s Cursed by Fire, from Amazon, on one of its free days.

Description from Goodreads:

Blood is going to spill …
It won’t be mine.

Someone is feeding the flames, leaving a trail of bodies in their wake. The victims are innocents, chosen to pit the shifter Pack and the vampire Coven against one another.

If war breaks out, humanity won’t survive.

But controlling fire is my thing, and I won’t let that happen.
I’m a mercenary, but this is about so much more than money. It’s my city and someone is threatening it. I won’t stop until I find them.

When the good guys start to look more like villains, I have no choice but to question everything I knew, including the people I thought I could trust.

It turns out the humans might not be as helpless as they seem, and I’m in more danger than I realized.

Review:

Meh, Not all-out bad, but not great either. Mostly, it was just predictable and full of tropes. But I liked the characters well enough and it was perfectly readable.

I don’t suppose I can review this book without addressing the allegations of plagiarism surrounding it. The world, a lot of the language, some of the characteristics of characters, and even some of the plot points really are very similar to the Kate Daniels series. (And it’s a little startling to go into a book knowing this to be the case and immediately come across a character named Daniel.) I don’t know if I’d call it plagiarism, maybe fanfiction. Though I know the author never says that it is.

Readers should probably also note that it’s not a standalone book and my kindle copy, at least, ends at 85%. The rest being a teaser for the next book.

murder at pirate's cove

Review of Murder at Pirate’s Cove (Secrets and Scrabble, #1), by Josh Lanyon

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I received an e-copy of Josh Lanyon‘s Murder at Pirate’s Cove through Netgalley.

Description from Goodreads:

Ellery Page, aspiring screenwriter, Scrabble champion and guy-with-worst-luck-in-the-world-when-it-comes-to-dating, is ready to make a change. So when he learns he’s inherited both a failing bookstore and a falling-down mansion in the quaint seaside village of Pirate’s Cove on Buck Island, Rhode Island, it’s full steam ahead!

Sure enough, the village is charming, its residents amusingly eccentric, and widowed police chief Jack Carson is decidedly yummy (though probably as straight as he is stern). However, the bookstore is failing, the mansion is falling down, and there’s that little drawback of finding rival bookseller–and head of the unwelcoming-committee–Trevor Maples dead during the annual Buccaneer Days celebration.

Still, it could be worse. And once Police Chief Carson learns Trevor was killed with the cutlass hanging over the door of Ellery’s bookstore, it is

Review:

I quite enjoyed this. I didn’t guess the murderer until 90%. The romance is such a slow burn that it doesn’t even culminate in this book, though it’s quite obvious that it’s coming. (For the record, I wouldn’t call this an M/M romance. Rather, I think it is a cozy mystery that just happens to have a gay protagonist.) The writing is clean and readable and I didn’t notice any particular editing problems. What’s to complain about?